“What To Expect” Movie Has Just Enough Pregnancy Angst

I got to catch a pre-release screening of the What to Expect When You're Expecting movie last night, and I have to say, if you're here on The Bump (which you obviously are), you'll want to catch this flick.

Like so many rom coms before it (Love Actually, He's Just Not That Into You _and the like), _What to Expect follows several couples played by a bevy of stars — Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Chace Crawford, Brooklyn Decker and more — whose lives are somehow loosely intertwined. They're all going through pregnancy or adoption and we get to see how it all plays out.

Sure, the movie is oftentimes predictable and feeds into a few stereotypes and myths, but it has the right balance of touching and hilarious. And it touches on a lot of topics we discuss here on The Bump every day, like pregnancy symptoms, relationship issues, c-sections and birth plans. Even tough stuff like infertility, miscarriage and deciding whether or not to circumcise. There are a few "surprise" pregnancies, one that was years in the making and one adoption. And of course, everyone has their own drama and issues to resolve before the baby arrives.

Watch out for really funny performances from Dennis Quaid, who plays an egotistical, aging new dad; Chris Rock, the head of the "dudes group" (the dad "fight club," minus the fighting and plus sippy cups); and Rebel Wilson, who plays a store assistant who's wonderfully weird and outrageous.

My favorite by far character is Wendy, played by Elizabeth Banks, who tries for two years to get pregnant and when she does, ends up having a pretty tough time of it. She has a really great speech, where she's supposed to be talking about the joy of pregnancy and birth and instead says, "I'm calling bull$#!% on the whole thing. Pregnancy sucks... I didn't get the glow. I just got the backne and the hemorrhoids." Of course, in the end (don't worry, no spoiler here), she's still really happy she did it. There's nothing more Bumpie than that.